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Pop Up Tent vs Regular Tent: Which Is Better?

ByNathaniel

Have you ever heard of a pop-up tent? Well, if you haven’t, here’s the lowdown: these bad boys are all about convenience. But are they a better investment than regular tents?

Think about it, you’re off to a festival or planning a kids’ party in a park, the last thing you want to fuss over is setting up a tent. Pop-up tents are your solution. With the tension in their frames, they pop up in seconds.

Now, let’s chat about the regular, or as some like to call them, traditional camping tents. They’re a bit of a project to set up. Putting together the poles, running them through the wall takes time. Poles and stakes also add to the weight of the tent.

The Pros Of Pop Up Tents vs Regular Tents

No Fuss Setup


Pop-up tents live up to their name—you ‘pop them up’, and boom, your accommodation is sorted. No wrestling with poles or stakes required.

In my experience you can have your pop up tent up and working just 15 seconds after you remove it from the carry bag.

To be exact, unzip the carry bag, take out the tent, unstrap it and throw it on the ground. The tension in the poles will get the rest done.

Pop up tents come with their own, pre-attached pole system. They have only one wall usually, or just a small rainfly that can’t be removed. So immediately you save the time it would take to put together a pole system or attach a rainfly.

Here is a table comparing the set up time of my pop up tent with regular tents:

TentTime to Set Up (Minutes)Where to Buy?Extensive ReviewTent Category
Night Cat Pop Up Tent1AmazonNight Cat Pop Up TentPop Up
MIER Lanshan4AmazonMIER Lanshan Ultralight
Naturehike Mongar 26AmazonNaturehike Mongar 2Backpacking
NTK Colorado GT5AmazonNTK Colorado GTBackpacking
Featherstone Tent7AmazonFeatherstone TentBackpacking
KAZOO Venus 6AmazonKazoo Venus TentUltralight
Night Cat Camping Tent5AmazonNight Cat TentCamping
Moon Lence Camping Tent8AmazonMoon Lence Tent Camping
Forceatt Tent 8AmazonForceatt TentBackpacking
How long does it take to set up a pop up tent vs a regular tent?

As you can see the pop up tent blows the competition out of the park. Obviously these are my own estimations. You can become better, faster at assembling your tent. However the difference in set up time is shocking.

Taking Down A Pop Up Tent

When it comes to taking down the tent, the situation is different. It usually takes a little longer, as you have to fold the tent into a small shape, and you have to fight the tension in the pole system. In my experience once you are familiar with the exact steps you need to take to fold the tent, the whole process speeds up significantly.

Most pop up tents come with an instruction manual. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Read the manual before putting away the tent, and save yourself valuable time.

Let’s compare the set up time of a Pop Up Tent to those of regular tents.

Light As A Feather

These tents are typically lighter than their regular counterparts. Pop up tents are Ideal if you’re off to a festival or on a weekend getaway and don’t fancy carrying half your body weight in gear.

Let’s do a quick comparison of the different weights. Let’s compare the weight of a pop up tent compare to regular tents! Are pop up tent really lighter than regular tents?

TentWeightNo. of PeopleWhere to Buy?Extensive ReviewTent Category
Night Cat Pop Up Tent3 kg / 6.6 lbs4AmazonNight Cat Pop Up TentPop Up
MIER Lanshan1.1 kg / 2.4 lbs1AmazonMIER Lanshan Ultralight
Naturehike Mongar 22.15 kg / 4.73 lbs2AmazonNaturehike Mongar 2Backpacking
NTK Colorado GT3.9 kg / 8.6 lbs4AmazonNTK Colorado GTBackpacking
Featherstone Tent1.9 kg / 4.2 lbs2AmazonFeatherstone TentBackpacking
KAZOO Venus 2.4 kg / 5.3 lbs2AmazonKazoo Venus TentUltralight
Night Cat Camping Tent2 kg / 4.4 lbs1AmazonNight Cat TentCamping
Moon Lence Camping Tent2.9 kgs/ 5.95 lbs2AmazonMoon Lence Tent Camping
Forceatt Tent 2 kg / 4.4 lbs1AmazonForceatt TentBackpacking
Comparing the weight of pop up tents vs average tents.

As you can see the Night Cat Pop Up Tent is significantly lighter than its other 4 person counterpart, the NTK Colorado GT. Even in relative weight terms – lbs/people in the tent – only the ultralight MIER Lanshan could give pop up tents a run for their money.

Newbie Friendly

Their simplicity makes them the perfect camping starter kit. If you’ve got kiddos embarking on their first camping adventures, this might be the way to go.

Pop up tents are safer for kids. Without poles to worry about, there are less rough edges, less chances for an accident to happen.

However in my opinion it also has a hidden downside. Let me explain! One of my fondest memories with my dad was setting up our tent at the beginning of any camping trip. It created a bond between us. Struggling with the poles, staking out the tent is a struggle. Overcoming struggle is a great source of camaraderie and bonding.

Pack and Go

I like that my Night Cat Pop Up Tent has a circular carry bag. I can carry it on my back, which is not really an option with most tent carry bags.

The Night Cat Pop Up Tent packed away in its circular carry bag.

However there is a limit to how small you can fold up a pop up tent. Since the poles can’t be removed, this poses a natural constraint. A pop up tent folded up will take up more space than a regular tent.

As you can see, the picture above features a circular packed pop up tent. The other category is rectangular pop up tents.

The pros of circular pop up tents include:

  • They are usually easier to fold and pack away.
  • You can carry them as a backpack with two parallel straps.

On the other hand the pros of rectangular pop up tents are:

  • They are smaller and easier to store at home or in your car.
  • They are easier to carry on your shoulder.

Versatility – Jack of All Trades

Beach trip? Backyard BBQ? Count the pop-up tent in. It is not just a camping essential—it’s your versatile companion for all things outdoors.

I have seen fishermen use pop up tents as wind shelters.

Since pop up tents are not extreme in their waterproofing, or how lightweight they are, they can never function in extreme environments. They are middle of the road. They do a good job no matter if you want to have a BBQ party, or if you need an entry level camping tent.

Waterproofness

Unfortunately the structure of pop up tents puts a strain on how waterproof they can be. Since they are single layer tents, they either have a very small rainfly, or they have no rainfly at all. Single wall tents are usually less waterproof than double wall tents.

This means there is no way pop up tents can function as four season tents. Unfortunately four season tents require at least 4000 mm HH waterproofing. Not really achievable with only one wall.

The question is whether that single wall can give you enough shelter. Let’s compare the waterproofing on pop up tents vs regular tents.

TentWaterproofness (mm HH)Single vs Double WallWhere to Buy?Extensive Review
Night Cat Pop Up Tent2000 SingleAmazonNight Cat Pop Up Tent
MIER Lanshan5000DoubleAmazonMIER Lanshan
Naturehike Mongar 24000DoubleAmazonNaturehike Mongar 2
NTK Colorado GT2500DoubleAmazonNTK Colorado GT
Featherstone Tent5000DoubleAmazonFeatherstone Tent
KAZOO Venus 3000SingleAmazonKazoo Venus Tent
Night Cat Camping Tent3000DoubleAmazonNight Cat Tent
Moon Lence Camping Tent1000SingleAmazonMoon Lence Tent
Forceatt Tent 4000 DoubleAmazonForceatt Tent
How waterproof are pop up tents compared to regular tents?

As you can see the Night Cat pop up tent is clearly one of the least waterproof options on my list. Even other single wall tents are getting in front of it, like the Kazoo Venus.

Pop up tents are less waterproof than their regular counterparts. In the case of the Night Cat, the regular version is clearly more waterproof than the pop up version.

Durability

Al in all the built in pole system hurts the durability of a tent. We can say that in general pop up tents are less durable than regular tents.

The poles of pop up tents are made of thin, bendable fibreglass. They are constantly holding tension when folded up.

Regular tents often have Y shaped pole structures. These are made of aluminium, and are the most durable.

Before you leave…

If you are looking for a tent that is easy to set up, is more durable and easier to carry, may I recommend you the KAZOO Venus Backpacking Tent.

If you need maximum waterproofing, why not check out the Featherstone Tent?

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